Northern Macedonia, a confetti in the volatile Balkans, has taken a small step towards the European Union, where its membership bid has long been discouraged. There is a reform government after two months of political crisis, writes the French daily newspaper "LesEcho".

End of the political crisis in Northern Macedonia. This small (2 million inhabitants) country resulting from the break-up of Yugoslavia thirty years ago is significant for the region, the volatile Balkans, because it is on one of the privileged routes of Middle Eastern migrants seeking to reach Western Europe.

Skopje emerged from a two-month political crisis Monday morning with the appointment of 47-year-old reform prime minister Dimitar Kovacevski. Parliament approved Kovacevski's new coalition government, led by Kovacevski's Social Democratic Party (SDSM), by 62 votes to 56.

Kovacevski succeeds Zoran Zaev, Deputy Minister of Finance in the previous government, where he did not stand out, writes "LesEcho" and Paris "Le Monde". The latter resigned in December after his party suffered a heavy defeat in the municipal elections. The coalition also includes parties representing the Albanian minority, which makes up a quarter of the population, which is sometimes economically and socially marginalized.

The program of the new head of government aims at "sustainable and stronger economic growth" and rapprochement with the European Union, as was a strategic priority of his predecessor and almost the entire population, explain the French media.

Dealing with the energy crisis caused by falling gasoline prices and, in the long run, the fight against endemic corruption are also among its main challenges. It will also be necessary to work on extending the economic recovery, from 4,6 per cent last year, after falling by 3% last year. Unemployment is still close to 17 percent of the active population, almost double that of five years ago, pushing many young people into exile, especially since the average wage does not exceed 800 euros a month. Thus, Macedonia is the fifth poorest country in Europe, writes "LesEkho", a newspaper specializing in economic issues.

This newspaper, like Le Monde, reminds that the country has been a candidate for membership in the Union since 2005, but was long vetoed by Greece, which considered the name Macedonia to be part of its exclusive historical heritage. After years of negotiations, the name dispute was resolved three years ago, with a predictable compromise in Northern Macedonia. But its access is now blocked by Bulgaria, again for linguistic and historical reasons, as well as by France. France reminds LesEcho two years ago that it was the only one of the XNUMX that vetoed, to everyone's surprise, the resumption of accession talks, despite progress in the fight against organized crime and the rule of law. Northern Macedonia, along with Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania, is one of the Balkan countries whose candidacy, recognized or not by Brussels, is in port, due to some fatigue from enlargement among member states.

The new Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia is to meet with his Bulgarian counterpart soon. However, the country joined NATO two years ago, despite pressure from its historic ally Russia, LesEcho concludes.

Source: MIA